There are many watches I would consider truly beautiful, and in so many different ways from simple, elegance such as the Lange RL PLM with its understated style and impeccable finish to the most blingy-yet-balanced Patek 5270P with the platinum sheen and diamond indices or even the red gold Aquanaut with its understated sport come dressy aesthetic, perfectly matching white hour markers and hands against a deep brown dial to achieve a warming "winter-look" that achieves causality while maintaining luxury. On the other end you have what I might call horological beauty, that of an overengineered watch that takes pride in its mechanics and puts that face front, I would say the JLC Extreme Lab II achieves that look like few others do. The AP RO Skeletonized does a fine job as well, but not quite as focused on engineering as it is on finishing and skeletonizing. On a more common approach, a watch can simply be beautiful in the way it achieves its tool watch purpose using high end materials finished well, Blancpain Fifty Fathoms with its sapphire bezel comes to mind.

But I digress, there are many ways a watch can be described as beautiful, but when it comes to striking or "breathtaking" few watches can do what the Patek 5270P does, of course that watch is not for everyone, with its 40MM case, and unfortunately its fantastically engineered and decorated movement demands a high price.

There is one watch, which I saw yesterday, that absolutely achieves all the criteria of being a truly gorgeous watch, in the classical sense, yet is obtainable. It is a grail piece for sure, and is not cheap by any sense of the word, but I believe it to be of exceptional value, the third generation Vacheron Constantine Overseas Chronograph in blue dial!

I own the white dial version when it first came out, fine watch indeed, and I very much enjoyed the fine finishing and perfectly engineered and finished bracelet and strap change system. But its not until I saw the absolutely mesmerizing blue dial that I truly regarded the watch! The oversized case of the chronograph highlights the exceptional finishing on the case, and this might sound crazy, but the chronograph seems to be differently approached that the time only overseas! The finishing is larger and bolder, reminiscent of how AP finish the Royal Oak Offshore, the all brushed bracelet acts as a wonderful frame so to speak to the striking dial, with the polished accents on the case adding a jewelry like feel to a tool watch design. As a Patek fan I never thought I would say this, but the Nautilus has nothing on this watch!

I saw both the white and black dials before, but they never pulled me in, it is amazing how big of a difference the dial made in the overall impact of the watch, and even more amazing how it draws one in to appreciate the details of the rest of the watch!

Its quite difficult to describe how the blue dial looks in person, I remember thinking if it was made out of a huge, pure, lab certified sapphire gemstone! It is that deep and electric. The outer ring on the dial has a different treatment so that the squares ove from black to dark blue to light blue as the light plays on them, with the subdials working on a third level. WOW!

Pictures do not do this watch justice, but this image kind of shows the details and dial characteristic I was taling about

I don't remember being so awe struck with a dial since I first saw the 5270P, that still takes the crown by some considerable margin, but at this price point the VC provides an attainable grail piece to works towards, and could be an exceptional all rounder.

I was really taken back by how the blue dial looked in real life. Aparentely the reason you do not see this watch siting in a display is that they sell super fast as soon as displayed. I believe it!

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jnelson3097 [ Wed Jan 09, 2019 6:37 am ]

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Re: What might be the 2nd most stricking watch I have ever s

I love the look of the blue dial, but I think a blue date wheel would look so much better.

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natesen [ Wed Jan 09, 2019 8:07 am ]

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Re: What might be the 2nd most stricking watch I have ever s

The VC blue is amazing. I got a chance to try that one on a few weeks back and everything about it is beautiful. The bracelet is extremely comfortable and it's nice that it comes with the quick change straps and i love the display back on the newest version.

Agree with Justin that the only critique is that white date window which really stands out, and not in a good way, against that amazing blue dial. It's not awful, but I wish it wasn't there at all.

Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk

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Moana43 [ Wed Jan 09, 2019 1:57 pm ]

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Re: What might be the 2nd most stricking watch I have ever s

Yup -- that blue dial is amazing, for sure.

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Altair [ Tue Jan 15, 2019 7:53 am ]

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Re: What might be the 2nd most stricking watch I have ever s

I have owned this watch for three days now. And I can confirm that it is indeed one of the greatest watches ever made! I am absolutely blown away. The pictures do not do this watch justice, and I was rather content with my time inept overseas, but this blue Chrono is just a mesmerizing beautiful perfectly engineered piece of art! It easily competes with the Patek Nautilus and absolutely destroys the standard RO chronograph.

I am particularly impressed by the finish, both the polished and brushed surfaces are immaculate even under extreme magnification. The in house movement is beautifully decorated in the unique VC fashion, it seems like they really thought of everything ,winding the crown feels rather luxurious, like a Patek dress piece, but the Chrono pushers are solid and have a very satisfying, and extremely precise, click to them. The bracelet is just breath taking! Engineering meets art meets practicality!

Well done VC! I am truly surprised this watch does not have more of a following! I don’t get why Vacheron and JLC refuse to market their products. It’s almost as if marketing is beneath them.

Anyway, this one is a true gem. A grail watch if there ever was one, it is constantly out of stock, especially the blue dial, but the waiting list is not long. I highly recommend considering this one guys if the finances allow!

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Altair [ Tue Jan 15, 2019 7:59 am ]

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Re: What might be the 2nd most stricking watch I have ever s

Forgot to mention, I did a little researching on this today. The last generation VC had a big date, I wondered why the in house movement version went the 4:30 route. It seems that a hidden date or no date at all is considered sportier! I never considered that.

I do believe that certain complications are geared towards dress or business applications, for instance all my office watches have to be Annual Calendars. And I can’t imagine a dress watch with that application ( my Patek Nautilis AC is definitely not a sport watch in feel or usage!)

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natesen [ Tue Jan 15, 2019 12:14 pm ]

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Re: What might be the 2nd most stricking watch I have ever s

I had the chance to try one of those on a couple weeks back and I agree that is one of the most beautiful blue dial chronos available. The blue really is hard to capture and pictures because it has so much depth in person. And the bracelet is amazing with the little pull micro adjustment.

I also don't understand why this watch is not more popular. I would take that over a nautilus any day. Love that it comes with the three strap options and the Quick Change release.